NASA's Swift Satellite Marks 10 Years of Game-changing Astrophysics

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NASA's Swift Satellite Marks 10 Years of Game-changing Astrophysics

November 20, 2014

Over the past decade, NASA's Swift Gamma-ray Burst Explorer has proven itself to be one of the most versatile astrophysics missions ever flown. It remains the only satellite capable of precisely locating gamma-ray bursts -- the universe's most powerful explosions -- and monitoring them across a broad range of wavelengths using multiple instruments before they fade from view.  

"Swift" isn't just a name -- it's a core capability, a part of the spacecraft's DNA. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) typically last less than a minute and Swift detects one event about twice a week. Once Swift observes a GRB, it automatically determines the blast's location, broadcasts the position to the astronomical community, and then turns toward the site to investigate with its own sensitive telescopes.

"This process can take as little as 40 seconds, which is so quick we sometimes catch the tail end of the GRB itself," said John Nousek, the director of mission operations and a professor of astrophysics at Penn State University in University Park, Pennsylvania. "Because Swift autonomously responds to sudden bursts of high-energy light, it also provides us with data on a wide range of short-lived events, such as X-ray flares from stars and other objects."

From colliding asteroids to a star shredded by a monster black hole, this video showcases highlights from NASA Swift's decade of discovery.

Image Credit: 

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Download this video in HD formats from NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio

To date, Swift has detected more than 900 GRBs. Its discoveries include a new ultra-long class, whose high-energy emissions endure for hours; the farthest GRB, whose light took more than 13 billion years to reach us; and the "naked-eye" GRB, which for about a minute was bright enough to see with the naked-eye despite the fact that its light had traveled 7.5 billion years. Early in the mission, Swift observations provided the "smoking gun" that validated long-standing theoretical models suggesting that GRBs with durations under two seconds come from mergers of two neutron stars, objects with the mass of the sun that have been crushed to the size of a city.

In addition to its studies of GRBs, Swift conducts a wide array of observations of other astrophysical phenomena. A flexible planning system enables astronomers to request Swift "target-of-opportunity" (TOO) observations, which can be commanded from the ground in as little as 10 minutes, or set up monitoring programs to observe specific sources at time intervals ranging from minutes to months. The system can schedule up to 75 independent targets a day.

"These characteristics make Swift a pioneer in a burgeoning field we call 'time-domain' astronomy," said Neil Gehrels, the mission's principal investigator at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "Just as we extended telescopic astronomy from visible light to other wavelengths, we are now beginning to study how the properties of astronomical objects change across a wide range of timescales, from less than a second to decades."  

In the most common type of gamma-ray burst, illustrated here, a dying massive star forms a black hole (left), which drives a particle jet into space. Light across the spectrum arises from hot gas near the black hole, collisions within the jet, and through the jet's interaction with its surroundings.

Image Credit: 

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Some projects require years of observations, such as long-term monitoring of the center of our galaxy -- and its dormant supermassive black hole -- with Swift's X-Ray Telescope (XRT). Astronomers also are using the spacecraft's Burst Alert Telescope to conduct a continuing survey of more than 700 active galaxies, where monster black holes devour large amounts of gas and shine brightly in X-rays and gamma rays.

Shorter-term projects included observations to map the nearest galaxies in the ultraviolet. The most demanding object was the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy orbiting our own at a distance of about 163,000 light-years. Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) captured 2,200 overlapping "snapshots" to cover the galaxy, producing the best-ever view in the UV. "The UVOT is the only telescope that can produce high-resolution wide-field multicolor surveys in the ultraviolet," said Michael Siegel, who leads the UVOT instrument team at Penn State.

Swift scientists discuss the mission, the science, and recall their personal experiences as members of the team.

Image Credit: 

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Download this video in HD formats from NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio

In 10 years of operation, Swift has made 315,000 individual observations of 26,000 separate targets, supporting nearly 6,200 TOO requests by more than 1,500 scientists. Its observations range from optical and ultraviolet studies of comets and asteroids to catching X-rays and gamma-rays from some of the most distant objects in the universe.

Another major highlight of Swift's studies of some 300 supernovae was the 2008 discovery of X-ray signals produced by a star caught in the act of exploding. Shockwaves breaching the surface of the dying star produced this brilliant flash.

Swift rocketed into orbit on Nov. 20, 2004. Managed by NASA Goddard, the mission is operated in collaboration with Penn State, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia. Other partners include the University of Leicester and Mullard Space Science Laboratory in the United Kingdom, Brera Observatory and the Italian Space Agency in Italy, with additional collaborators in Germany and Japan.

Earlier this year, Swift ranked highly in NASA's 2014 Senior Review of Operating Missions and will continue its enormously productive scientific work through at least 2016.

3D-imaging the Assyrian reliefs at the British Museum: from the 1850s to today

November 19, 2014 • 10:30 am

3D-imaging the Assyrian reliefs at the British Museum: from the 1850s to today

Matthew Cock, Head of Web, British Museum

In August this year, a team from CyArk scanned the British Museum’s collection of Assyrian reliefs displayed on the Ground floor, using three different techniques: LiDAR,structured-light and photogrammetry.

Detail of relief from the North Palace of Ashurbanipal, Nineveh, Iraq. The king is in his chariot shooting arrows at succession of lions (ME 124867).

The reliefs were originally commissioned by powerful Assyrian kings between the 9th and 7th centuries BC for their palaces, at a time when the small kingdom of Assyria, in what is now northern Iraq, expanded through conquest to dominate the Middle East, from the Persian Gulf to the Nile. The carved images range from symbolic scenes of royal achievements to scenes of conquest and hunting that all serve to glorify the Assyrian monarch.

Reception of Nineveh sculptures at the British Museum, The Illustrated London News 1852, p. 184. Etching and engraving.

The reliefs were acquired by the Museum in the late 1840s and 1850s as a result of the Treasury-sponsored archaeological expeditions of Sir Austen Henry Layard, who began his excavations at the North-West Palace of Ashurnasirpal at Nimrud in 1845. The first reliefs arrived in London in June 1847, followed soon by the monumental human-headed winged bulls. To accommodate them, the Assyrian galleries were created – between the Egyptian sculpture and Greek sculpture galleries – where they remain today.

As well as contributing to CyArk’s archive of cultural heritage, the scans provide a fantastic resource that we can use to help people better understand and engage with these objects. The carved panels work like modern comic books, starting the story at one end and following it along the walls to the conclusion. They were designed as a narrative, to be ‘read’ by the king, court and visitors to the royal palaces. It is incredibly difficult to get a good sense of that narrative, or their scale or presence through still images or even video.

With the help of the 3D models created from the scans, we have the potential to develop interpretative media in the galleries, online and through mobile and wearable technology. There are many potential approaches, from delineating the carved scenes where the stone has deteriorated to reconstructing the original architectural scheme, complete with colour paint, and torch-lit ambience as they might have appeared to the Assyrians in their original setting. The video above shows an early trial developed by CyArk using scans from the Siege of Lachish reliefs in Room 10b.

Imaginative reconstruction of the interior of an Assyrian palace. A H Layard, The Monuments of Nineveh, London, 1849, plate 2.

Computer 3D technology is being increasingly adopted in museums to aid with conservation, curatorial research and interpretation. When the Assyrian reliefs first arrived in the Museum almost exactly 160 years ago, the latest imaging technology of the time – photography – was in its infancy. Interestingly, it grew up closely connected with the developing discipline of archaeology. Indeed, the main players in the early histories of archaeology, photography and philology (the study of language, but particularly the decipherment of ancient languages) moved in the same social and scholarly circles in London, meeting, corresponding and collaborating.

The early pioneer of photography William Henry Fox-Talbot was also fascinated with archaeology and convinced of the usefulness of his invention to museum and archaeological practices. He had visited the British Museum Trustees in 1843 to demonstrate his invention, but failed to persuade Charles Fellows, then excavating in Lycia, in what is now southern Turkey, to take the bulky and fragile equipment on his next expedition.

But by the 1850s, the equipment and processes were simpler, and interest at the Museum had grown. Edward Hawkins, Keeper of the Department of Antiquities, responsible for the Assyrian objects, was keen for photographs to be made of the growing collection of cuneiform tablets (arriving from Assyria at the same time as the reliefs) to help allow Edward Hincks, an Irish scholar and expert in cuneiform, and others (including Fox-Talbot himself) to translate them.

Collotype print photograph of Roger Fenton, taken by an unknown photographer, c. 1860. © National Media Museum / Science & Society Picture Library (2003-5001/2/22878).

Hawkins talked to Lord Rosse, scientist and President of the Royal Society, and British Museum Trustee, and soon after the Trustees instructed the Museum to employ a photographer. The advice of another scientist, Charles Wheatstone, was sought. Wheatstone had invented stereoscopy, creating the first stereoscopic viewer in 1838 which created the illusion of 3D. This early model used illustrations, but photography provided a far more suitable medium. Wheatstone had been collaborating with the photographer Roger Fenton, and recommended him for the job.

Roger Fenton, The Assyrian Gallery, British Museum. stereoscopic pair of photographs, c. 1850s.

Part of Fenton’s early work at the Museum was a series of stereoscopic photographs of galleries, which survive as part of Wheatstone’s collection now in the archives of King’s College, London. One of those shows a tantalising view of the newly opened Assyrian Gallery.

Stereo viewer, with view of Edinburgh Castle and the Grassmarket. This viewer is an example of the more portable development of the technology that followed Wheatstone’s earlier ‘desktop’ models. Photo © Peter Stubbs.

Stereoscopy became a huge craze in the late 1850s and 1860s, and persisted well into the 20th century. Today’s virtual reality wearable technology, such as Oculus Rift and Google Cardboard echo their forerunners in intention (an immersive experience) and appearance.

First in the series of Roger Fenton’s photographs of the Kuyunjik Collection of cuneiform tablets. Albumen prints on card. Archives of the Middle East Department at the British Museum

Cuneiform clay tablet, a salt paper print photograph by Roger Fenton, c. 1854. © National Media Museum / Science & Society Picture Library (1937-4093).

As well as experimenting with this new 3D technology in the galleries, Fenton also made photographs of the objects, as was his brief. Between 1853 and 1854 he systematically photographed the series of cuneiform tablets known as the Kuyunkjik Collection. One of Fenton’s greatest challenges was lighting. He had a glass studio built on the roof of the Museum, based on his own studio in his home in North London. Portable objects such as the cuneiform tablets were brought there to be photographed. By May 1856, Fenton and his assistants had made more than 8,000 prints in the galleries and his rooftop studio.

Standing in the gallery watching CyArk’s scanners spinning and collecting millions of points of data, I reflected on how the British Museum and the Assyrian objects that so fascinated scholars and public alike in the late 19th century were once again the site of a new technology in its early years. Museum technologists have to make difficult decisions on what to adopt and when. Soon after the period discussed above, the British Museum’s early interest in photography waned, likely mainly due to the high cost of the equipment and materials. Fenton’s employment was ended in 1859, and many of his negatives were transferred to the South Kensington Museum, now the Victoria and Albert Museum, where they form part of the UK’s national collection of the art of photography. But still, of course, that doesn’t mean it never happened: 160 years on, and the British Museum now has over 1.2 million images of objects in thecollection online.

CyArk have enabled us to investigate the possibilities of 3D with a significant group of objects from the collection, and I am optimistic that this is just the beginning. It doesn’t take much to imagine a time when 3D scans become the de facto method of recording objects in the collection. I believe that this project – and once again the Assyrian reliefs – are remembered as a key moment in that change.

The Assyrian reliefs are on display in Rooms 6-10 on the Ground floor of the British Museum.

If you are interested in stereoscopy, visit the BP Spotlight: ‘Poor man’s picture gallery’: Victorian Art and Stereoscopic Photography at Tate Britain from 13 October 2014 – April 2015

A selection of 3D models of British Museum objects can be viewed, embedded and downloaded from our Sketchfab channel.

Αποκάλυψη για τις νέες Χ5 Μ και Χ6 Μ BMW

Η μεγάλη στιγμή της BMW στο προσεχές σαλόνι αυτοκινήτου του Λος Άντζελες θα είναι αναμφίβολα η παγκόσμια πρεμιέρα των Χ5 M και Χ6 Μ. Τα μεγάλα SUV της γερμανικής μάρκας αποκαλύφθηκαν διαδικτυακά, πριν εμφανιστούν στην πόλη της Καλιφόρνια στις 18 Νοεμβρίου. Η BMW θέλει να πάει ένα βήμα πιο μπροστά τις κορυφαίες εκδόσεις των Χ5 και Χ6, στους τομείς των επιδόσεων και της οδικής συμπεριφοράς.

Τη δύναμη στα δύο μοντέλα της BMW M χαρίζει ο V8 TwinPower Turbo των 4.395 cc. Είναι όμως αναβαθμισμένος ώστε να αποδίδει 575 PS (έναντι 555 PS στα προηγούμενα μοντέλα) και 76,5 kgm ροπής (από 69,3 kgm), η οποία είναι διαθέσιμη από τις 2.200 έως τις 5.000 rpm. Η κίνηση περνά σε όλους τους τροχούς μέσω του στάνταρ 8τάχυτου αυτόματου Steptronic κιβωτίου.

Όλα τα παραπάνω μαζί με την τετρακίνηση επιτρέπουν στα αυτοκίνητα βάρους σχεδόν 2.300 kg να επιταχύνουν από στάση στα 100 km/h σε μόλις 4,2 sec! Η τελική ταχύτητα περιορίζεται ηλεκτρονικά στα 250 km/h. Η BMW ανακοινώνει μεικτή κατανάλωση (θεωρητική βέβαια σε αυτοκίνητα ανάλογου χαρακτήρα) που είναι κοινή τόσο στη Χ5 Μ όσο και στην coupe Χ6 Μ: 11,1 lt/100 km και εκπομπές CO2 στα επίπεδα των 258 g/km.

Η X5 M και η X6 M ξεχωρίζουν οπτικά από το body kit με τις μεγάλες εισαγωγές αέρα στον εμπρός προφυλακτήρα, την τετραπλή απόληξη της εξάτμισης, την πίσω αεροτομή (στη Χ6), τους τροχούς των 20 ιντσών (προαιρετικά 21 ιντσών) και τους αποκλειστικούς εξωτερικούς καθρέπτες. Στην καμπίνα των επιβατών η πολυτέλεια συνυπάρχει με τις sport πινελιές στο τιμόνι, τον πίνακα οργάνων, τα ηλεκτρικά ρυθμιζόμενα δερμάτινα καθίσματα με το λογότυπο της «Μ» κ.α.

Japan Tests Its Own Hover Train 500ΚΜ

Japan Tests Its Own Hover Train
Posted 18 hours ago

The Central Japan Railway Company is testing a magnetically levitating train that can go up to 311 mph (500km/h). That’s more than twice the speed of the fastest bullet train currently operating in the United States.




The train’s maglev technology reduces friction and helps them go faster than your average speeding bullet train. Shanghai, China also uses maglev train technology. This train can go 268 mph at top operational speed, but has been clocked at 311 mph before.


The first passengers hopped on board the Shinkansen train test track in Yamanashi Prefecture to test out what it’s like to float along at breakneck speeds.




According to the BBC, The Central Japan Railway Company will be testing the trains over eight days, with a total of 2,400 passengers.

The trains will eventually run from Tokyo to Nagoya by 2027. The trip will take about 40 minutes between stations.

Nov 17 2014 - Leave a Comment

This is how Italian Tornado jets and Predator drones will contribute to the war on ISIS

By David Cenciotti

Along with the KC-767s, already supporting the coalition forces with an aerial refueling capability, Rome has committed four Tornado IDS and two Predator drones to the war on ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

The Italian Air Force is about to move four Tornado IDS attack planes, belong to the 6° Stormo, from Ghedi airbase, to Kuwait, to join the US-led coalition that is fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria. According to DefenseNews, the aircraft are going to be based at Ahmed Al Jaber air base in Kuwait, the same country where Rome has deployed one of its brand new KC-767 tankers.

The aircraft will not be used to perform air strikes (although they could join the raids at a later stage as happened to the AMX in Afghanistan), but will perform reconnaissance mission: a role the Tornados have already undertook in Libya andAfghanistan.

For this kind of mission, the aircraft usually carry a Rafael Reccelite reconnaissance pod: the Reccelite is a Day/Night electro-optical pod able to provide real-time imagery collection. It is made of a stabilized turret, solid-state on board recorder that provides image collections in all directions, from high, medium and low altitudes.

The Reccelite reconnaissance pod is used to broadcast live video imagery via datalink to ground stations and to ROVER (Remote Operations Video Enhanced Receiver) tactical receivers in a range of about 100 miles.

The pod can also be carried by the AMX ACOL, the light tactical jet that has performed close air support/air interdiction and ISR missions in support of ISAF from 2009 until the summer of 2014.

Also based in Kuwait are two MQ-1C Predator A+ from Amendola airbase, that are tasked with ISR (Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance) missions in Iraq.

The Italian Air Force operates a mixed force of 6 MQ-9 Reaper and 6 MQ-1C Predator both assigned to the 28° Gruppo (Squadron) of the 32° Stormo (Wing).

The Italian UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) have already operated in Iraq between January 2005 and 2006 when the first RQ-1 Predator A was deployed to Tallil airbase, in Iraq.
Later, two Predator A+ (designated MQ-1C A+ a standard to which all the former RQ-1 were upgraded) were deployed to Herat, in Afghanistan, to perform a wide array of missions: mainly MEDEVAC (Medical Evacuation), support to TIC (Troops In Contact), IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) monitoring and Convoy Escort.

The Italian unarmed drones will probably be involved in High Value Target surveillance and Reconnaissance (and, maybe special ops support).

Although it was not disclosed, most probably Predators will be employed in Iraq as they were employed in Afghanistan: in accordance with the so-called Remote Split Operations (RSO). During RSO, aircraft is launched from a local, in theater airbase, under direct line-of-sight control of the local MGCS (Mobile Ground Control Station).

Then, by means of satellite data link, it is taken on charge and guided from Amendola. When the assigned mission is completed, it is once again handed over to a pilot in Afghanistan, who lands it back to Herat airbase. The 1-second delay introduced by the satellite link is not compatible with the most delicate phases of flight; hence, aircraft are launched and recovered in line-of-sight by the deployed MCGS (US drones use the same kind of remote control).

BAE submits proposal for US Army's CIRCM programme

18 November 2014

BAE Systems has submitted its proposal for the US Army's next-generation common infrared countermeasure (CIRCM) programme.

The CIRCM programme aims to develop a laser-based, infrared countermeasures solution to protect US helicopters and light fixed-wing aircraft against infrared guided missiles or man-portable air defence systems.

Tested and evaluated at Worrell / Weeks Aircrew Protection Center in New Hampshire, US, BAE's CIRCM offering received the handoff from the US Army's existing common-missile warning system (CMWS) to provide appropriate countermeasures to defeat threats.

BAE Systems threat management solutions director Bill Staib said: "The submission of our CIRCM proposal is the latest offering in our more than 40 years of experience with infrared countermeasures, delivering critical aviation survivability equipment to our armed forces.

"We are leveraging the company's extensive expertise to submit a proposal for a next-generation aircraft survivability solution, which would protect US military aircraft and troops from existing and evolving infrared-guided threats."

In February 2012, BAE received an initial $38m contract from the army to compete in the CIRCM technology demonstration phase, and then delivered initial units, in addition to completing lab testing, design reviews and flight testing.

"The submission of our CIRCM proposal is the latest offering in our more than 40 years of experience with infrared countermeasures."

The company offered its Boldstroke laser countermeasure system, which is a lightweight, low-cost jamming device designed to defend helicopters against infrared-guided missiles and other evolving threats.

Initially valued at a minimum of $1.1bn, the cost of the CIRCM programme is expected to rise to as much as $5bn, if the US Navy and US Air Force, as well as allied militaries, decide to equip their helicopters with the systems.

The army plans to equip 1,076 helicopters, including the Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk, Apache, Chinook, C-20, V-22 Osprey, Super Cobra and Super Huey.

The US intends to award a 26-month contract for the engineering, manufacturing, development and delivery of 21 CIRCM systems in early 2015.

Northrop Grumman, along with its industry team, is also bidding for the contract.

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Image: The common infrared countermeasure programme aims to protect US rotary and fixed-wing aircraft from infrared guided missiles. Photo: courtesy of BAE Systems.